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Getting the Williams from groundfloor to the fourth

When making exhibitions here at Te Papa, teams have to install a wide variety of objects. You, the visitor, generally only get to see the polished final product – everything all beautifully laid out, ready for viewing.

Have you ever wondered how we get the big stuff in? All I can say is – thank goodness for the goods lift. Now, I know it’s big and has had cars in it in the past but you never fully appreciate this ability until you see it for yourself…

And so the Formula One cars were moved, one by one, from the dockway up to Level Four.

Various objects get moved to their respective gallery’s usually by trolley – but with the installation of these Formula One cars it was a different kettle of fish…. a different road to follow you could say

Those responsible for the safety of the cars decided on wheeling them through Level Four from the lift…

These cars are designed to operate beautifully at very high speeds – which meant turning corners at very slow speeds very tricky. There was no such thing as a perfectly executed 3-point turn! More like five or six-point shimmying to get them around corners and into the Visa Platinum Gallery… there was a lot of maths…

You may also be thinking that the Williams FW14B is not looking that flash – it’s nose-cone had been removed in England so it didn’t get damaged in transit. So we’ve made Nigel Mansell’s 1992 car look gorgeous again… rhinoplasty does wonders!